Matsushita to lift TV output

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co plans to boost its annual production of colour television sets at its joint venture in China to one million by 1999, according to company officials.

The electronics company also intends to expand its sales network in China in the face of stiff competition from its main rival Sanyo Electric Co and Hong Kong concerns, the officials said.

The Chinese joint-venture company, Shandong Matsushita Television and Visual Co, in the city of Jinan, Shandong province, will start operations next month.

The new factory aims to boost annual production of colour televisions to 500,000 sets as early as 1998.